James (Jimmy, Jim) Herbert Latham was born on Monday April 14, 1947, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Julia Estelle Burnett, a 'Rosie the Riveter' during WWII, and Herbert Latham, Jr., who was a WWII Navy veteran, and died on Monday April 20, 2026, in Oakland, Fayette Co., Tennessee. On June 26, 2022, Jim was diagnosed with IPF, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, an incurable lung disease. He fought it bravely, but in the end the disease won.  He was 79 years old.

Jim attended Gordon Elementary School and Humes High School where he was in the Latin Club, Advanced Science Club, Sr. Class Reporter, ROTC Distinguished M.T. IT Cadet, Who's Who Most Intellectual (he was more popular than the real one!), andHonor Society in his Senior Year.

On August 20, 1966, he married the love of his life, Brenda kay Brower, who also went to Humes. They both worked at Sears Crosstown.

On November 28, 1967, Jim was drafted into the Army, where he trained in the Signal Corp as a teletype operator and earned an award of the Graduate with Honor Certificate of the U.S. Army Southeastern Signal School. Right before Jim was sent to Vietnam he and his wife Brenda found out they were to be parents. On October 6, 1968, Jim arrived in Vietnam. His tour of duty cut short by a mortar attack on the night of February 6, 1969, and he sustained a mortar wound to his left shoulder. He was medevacked to Japan and stayed in the hospital there several weeks and then was sent to Millington Naval Air Station in Millington, Tennessee. He was there until he was discharged from the Army on July 3, 1969. Jim received the National Defense Service Medal with One Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with One Campaign Star, one Overseas Service Bar, Expert Badge (M-16), Marksman Badge (M-14)., Army Commendation Medal and the Purple Heart.

Jim and Brenda welcomed their first child, Timothy Sean, on May 5, 1969, and moved into their first home in 1970. Jim and Brenda started learning how to do things around their house. Brenda started decorating and Jim helped by doing wallpaper. Jim's first woodworking project was a sandbox with top for their son Tim. Their second child, Sabrina Renee, was born April 24, 1972. Jim helped the kids with their homework, took them camping, taught them to fish, taught them to Swim, first in a 10' round swimming pool and a larger one later that he built a deck around.

Jim became an electrical apprentice and in 1974 they moved into their second house. He built a den onto the back of the house and a workshop where he built model cars, a lifelong hobby, for which he won many awards, and he listened to music as he

built. He loved music all his life and collected 45's, albums, reel-to-reel cassettes and CD's by the hundreds. He loved music from the 50's, 60's and 70's most.

Jim Was chosen Electrical Apprentice of the Year in his fourth year, became a Master Electrician, and later went on to teach others to be electricians. Jim learned air conditioning and heating from his uncle and later went on to start his own electrical, heating and a/c business, with his wife Brenda answering the phones and doing all the office work. Jim sold his a/c business in 2004 and went to work for Jabil Circuits until retiring in 2008

Jim had a love of cars all his life. In the 9's Jim and Brenda bought his dad's 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury and they loved that car. Jim tricked it out, painting it a 1986 Cadillac Autumn Maple Firemist Cronar, with Procar Galaxie seats, a Torque Flite transmission and 1969 Chrysler bored steel crank, 268 composition cam engine. The engine compartment gleamed with chrome. Jim and Brenda joined a car club and had many friends. They went to dances where they loved to Bop and slow dance. Jim was a great dancer. They drove to multiple car shows where their car won Best in Show, Best Engine and Best Paint on multiple occasions.

In 2004 Jim and Brenda moved to Oakland and bought a house with five acres, a lifelong dream of Jim's to own land. He put in trails so the grandkids could ride a golf cart on them. They ran into a few trees, but everyone had fun. They added a den, a multi-purpose room with a bed and two tiny areas just for the granddaughters, later taken over by the third granddaughter and first grandson. Jim carried a plastic skeleton around on his riding lawnmower and named him Bruce. In the yard near the street he had a skeleton pushing a mower running over another skeleton. There are two skeletons on a bench, one with its arm around the other, representing Jim and Brenda sitting outside their front yard. Together they put a year-round cemetery around a big tree in the middle of their driveway, with a skeleton driving a small red car, a gargoyle, animal skeletons of all kinds, a zombie rising from the ground. Jim and Brenda both had a sense of humor. Jim also Loved animals and had many dogs throughout his life, his last being a chihuahua named Mr. Magoo, and cats, of which he had ten at last count. Plus, a koi/goldfish pond (that he built) that he and Brenda enjoyed sitting next to watching the fish and listening to the waterfall.

Jim made many good friends from the VA and his friends Chris and Randy visited him on his final birthday and brought him a balloon, and cracked jokes. Jim was a lifelong prankster. Whoopi cushions, fake poo, googly eyes, wise *ss jokes, you name it, Jim was up for it.

Jim leaves his wife Brenda, to whom he was married 59 years and 8 months; his son Tim (Lisa); daughter Renee; grandson Kyle; granddaughters Chelsea (Anton), Faith (Richard), and Kenzi; step-grandchildren Sydney and Zack; great-grandsons Bentley, Luka and Rowan.

Jim will be buried April 27, 2026, at Forest Hill Cemetery East, 2440 Whitten Rd., Memphis, Tennessee.

The family wishes that in lieu of flowers that a donation to your favorite charity be given.